Before the Midnight Toll
by ring of roses
Summary: This will be a night to remember. Eleven pairings, eleven drabbles, and eleven different New Year's Eves. Seven: James Sirius/OC. ""What was that?" "It's customary to kiss someone on midnight.""
1. Turning Tables

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**One: Turning Tables (JamesLily)**

* * *

For the record, Lily Evans was not usually a jealous or malicious person.

However, if Marlene McKinnon did not move herself _at least _five meters away from James Potter, Lily would have a fit.

If, at this time last year, someone had told Lily that she'd be upset over the fact that James and Marlene were talking and laughing together, she would have laughed right in their face. But now... now things were different.

Last year, on the first day of their sixth year, James had cornered Lily and apologized for his behavior during the previous years. If she was being honest with herself, Lily was rather impressed. She hadn't let James know that though; instead, she gave him a curt 'thank you' and darted off to find Mary and Alice.

A week later, James asked her out in a ridiculous way, she turned him down rudely, and everything was back to normal.

That is until Sirius _bloody _Black decided to lock the two in a _broom closet_ the day before exams. Needless to say, it had not turned out well. James had tried to apologized, but Lily, already frazzled from the stress of their looming exams, would hear nothing of it. She ended up screaming at him for so long and so loudly that she wore her voice out and eventually resorted to bawling her eyes out. Sirius had eventually let the two out, and James had apparently taken Lily's anger to heart—it was a half a year later and James had yet to ask her to Hogsmeade or speak to her other than when absolutely necessary.

In hindsight, Lily had to admit that _maybe_ she had overreacted a bit. After all, it wasn't _really_ James' fault; it was all that bloody prat Sirius Black's fault!

Speaking of him, where was the prick? Shouldn't he have been over with James and Marlene? He _was_ going out with the latter, and wasn't it _his_ job to make sure the two weren't getting too chummy with each other?

Lily shook her head, trying to erase all of her jealous thoughts, though it was becoming increasingly harder. Ever since James had been ignoring her at the start of term, the redhead found herself craving the Quidditch captain's attention. Ironically, she found herself missing their playful banter and his idiotic attempts to woo her. Lily had even resorted to trying to woo _him_ – and yet, James remained undeterred.

_That boy is too stubborn for his own good,_ Lily thought sadly. She could not believe how the tables had turned; now that she had finally accepted her feelings for him (there was no denying now that she fancied him, even Peter Pettigrew ought to have caught on by now) James had seemingly moved on.

"How tragically ironic," Lily muttered under her breath, taking a sip butter beer. She briefly scanned the room, curious as to where her friends had wandered off to.

Alice Maine was cuddling with Frank Longbottom over by the fire, Mary MacDonald was conversing with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black was standing next to Lily by the refreshment table, Emmeline Vance and Benjy Fenwick were flirting—

_Wait a minute._

Lily whipped around and saw that, indeed, Sirius Black had decided to stand right next to her.

"Ello, Evans." Sirius lifted his glass—which Lily doubted was pumpkin juice or butter beer—in a manner of greeting. "How are you doing on this lovely evening?"

Lily stared at him eyebrows raised and mouth open. "What are you _doing_ over here? You hate me!"

Sirius let out a low, bark-like laugh. "I don't hate you, Lily. Strongly dislike, yes, but not hate. I prefer to save my hatred for my family."

Lily pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. None of that information was new; it was a well-known fact that Sirius could not stand his family and that they felt the same way. Nevertheless, how was one supposed to respond to that? "Okay... Then if you so strongly dislike me, why are you standing over here and attempting to make small talk?"

"Well, you see, love"—Lily narrowed her eyes and Sirius winked at her and shot her a crooked smile that would make the majority of Hogwarts' female population swoon—"I've got myself in a bit of a dilemma."

Lily raised a questioning eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, do _your_ issues involve _me_?"

Sirius' grin turned wicked and Lily felt a bit unnerved. "I was just getting to that. You see that bloke over there?" He lifted a cup in James and Marlene's direction. "Well, he is taking up my valuable time with that lovely bird."

Lily stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out how she fit into this puzzle. "Wait... You want _me_ to go and interrupt their conversation, just so _you_ can go snog your girlfriend?"

"Exactly." Sirius' smirk didn't falter. "And you're going to do it."

"Why on _earth_ would I?" Lily shot back, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Because, love"—Sirius leaned closer, his voice dropping—"I know you want to separate them just as much as I do."

Lily felt a blush rise up to her neck, aware of the fact that he was one hundred percent right. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Fantastic." Sirius' eyes lit up. "And I'd hurry if I were you; it's nearly midnight."

Lily nearly gasped when. She realized that people were counting down to the New Year, finding partners to kiss at the clock's strike, when suddenly an idea struck her.

Shoving her drink into Sirius' hands, Lily marched right up to James, grabbing his shoulders, pausing for a moment only to let the countdown end, and snogged him with as much passion as she could manage.

And then—after she pulled away, looking quite pleased with herself—James fainted, and from his spot by the refreshment table, Sirius gave Lily two thumbs up.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the amazing JK Rowling. I own **_**nothing.**_

**A/N: Oh, Lord, I had **_**way**_** too much fun writing this XD I don't know who was more fun, Sirius or Lily. This was written for **Addicted-To-Sugar-Quills**'s** Happy New Year Competition. **There's still ten pairings left where that came from :P **

**Here's a bit of a back story for this: this takes place in 1977/78, the Marauders' seventh year, at the McKinnon's annual New Year's Eve party. Lily only attended because Mary and Alice went—Marlene and Lily never got along too well in school; Marlene was always trying to set up her roommate with James ;)**

**Review if you're feeling nice, but I won't beg!**

**Next up: Sirius/Marlene!**


	2. Breaking Tradition

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**Two: Breaking Tradition (SiriusMarlene)**

* * *

"Sirius!" Marlene laughed as Sirius dragged her through the thick crowd, pushing people aside as the duo made their way to the front. "You can't just push people out of the way!" Her scold would have been sterner if she hadn't been laughing while doing so.

"Oh yeah?" He shot her a mischievous look. "Watch me." He then proceeded to push aside the man in front of them.

"I'm so sorry!" Marlene apologized, darting after her boyfriend, receiving a grunt in response. She finally caught up to her boyfriend and whacked the back of his head.

"Oi!" Sirius cursed, rubbing the wounded area. "What was that for?"

"For being a rude pig!" Marlene snickered, shoving him lightly. "And don't be such wimp—that did _not _hurt!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around Marlene's waist as the people around them began counting down to the New Year.

"Ten… nine… eight… seven… six…" Marlene counted softy, and Sirius, being his usual impatient self, couldn't wait until the New Year, promptly cutting her off with a kiss that lasted well into the New Year.

Marlene mock glared at him when they pulled apart. "Sirius," she began in as serious of a voice as she could manage, "according to tradition, you're supposed to kiss _on_ midnight, not before."

Sirius let out a loud laugh, causing a few people to glance over at them. "Marls, when have _we_ ever been _traditional_?"

Pretending to think for a moment, Marlene lost her solemn face and snorted (in a very ladylike way, of course). "Good point," she said, snaking her arms around Sirius' neck and bringing her lips to his once more.

* * *

**A/N: *grinning widely*Hehe, I love writing Marlius fluff (: Sorry if it might seem choppy in some places, I was writing this in between AVPM scenes XD**

**Oh, and this is set about a year after the last drabble in Diagon Alley – there has to be some sort celebration there, no?**

**Thanks to my reviewers: **InventorOfFirebolt **and **Addicted-To-Sugar-Quills**. Reviews are always loved (;**

**Next up: Blaise Zabini and Parvati Patil – should be interesting (;**


	3. Something Else

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**Three: Something Else (Blaise/Parvati)**

* * *

"Merlin above!" Parvati Patil cried loudly, causing a few witches and wizards to glance at her oddly. "The world must be ending!"

Blaise Zabini raised an eyebrow from his spot to her left. "I'll probably regret asking, but _what_ are you going on about now, Patil?"

Parvati stared at him seriously, though the corners of her lips were twitching. "I was merely stating that I never thought I'd see the day when _Blaise Zabini_ couldn't find a date for New Year's—let alone going and drowning his troubles at the Leaky Cauldron, which if I may add, is a _public _pub."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I'll let you know that I _chose_ to spend the holiday putting—what are they saying now?—oh, yes, putting 'bros over hoes.'"

Parvati snorted into her hand, trying—and failing—to hold back a laugh. "That's the most _pathetic_ excuse I've heard in a long time. And I've heard Longbottom try to turn down a girl."

"If you don't believe me, you can watch my flat-mate attempt to chat up Greengrass over there," Blaise drawled, nodding his head over to where a very drunk Theodore Nott would not leave poor Daphne Greengrass alone.

"Then why aren't you..." Parvati trailed off, smirking widely. "You've been dumped, haven't you?" Blaise remained silent, taking a swig of his fire whiskey, and Parvati's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "No _way_! This _must_ be a sign of the apocalypse. Not only is Blaise at the _Leaky Cauldron_, he has also been ditched by his friend, _and_ he's been dumped! _What_ has this world come to?"

Blaise, finished with his drink, looked extremely unimpressed. "Finish now?" Parvati started to open her mouth, but he cut her off. "And I'll have you know that it was a mutual parting; no one was, as you so articulately put it, 'dumped.'"

Parvati raised her eyebrows, thoroughly unconvinced. "Sure," she said, stretching out the 'u' sound. "I think you're losing your touch."

Blaise openly glared at the witch next to him. "I am _not _losing my touch; I could get any bird I wanted. In fact, I'll have you know—" Parvati rolled her eyes and stopped listening, gazing around the pub, her eyes landing on her best friend.

"Aw," Parvati cooed, cutting off Blaise off in the middle of whatever he was saying. "Seamus and Lavender are _so_ cute together, don't you think?"

Blaise stared at her, looking rather exasperated. "Did you just listen to a _word_ I said?"

"Was I supposed to?" Parvati asked sweetly, blinking innocently.

Blaise sighed, placing his head in his hands. "You are something else, Patil."

Parvati just grinned and patted his head. "I try my best."

* * *

**A/N: So I think I just made Blaise/Parvati a new favorite pairing of mine lol. This was fun to write (: I hope I made them IC, though; they weren't really mentioned too much, so I doubt I can mess them up _too_ bad..**

**This is set in The Leaky Caulron (obviously) in 1999/00, so about a year and a half after the Battle of Hogwarts.**

**Thanks to **InventorOfFirebolt **for reviewing. I don't want to beg for reviewers, but it would be nice to have some other opinions. I won't delay chapters or anything, I just like to know what people think.**

**Next Up (hopefully later today, if I'm being productive): Draco/Astoria. I have it all planned out, I just have to transfer my thoughts into words :P**


	4. Midnight Arrivals

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**Four: Midnight Arrivals (DracoAstoria)**

* * *

"Astoria, you're sulking." Draco smirked, joining his wife in the secluded corner of the Nott Manor ballroom.

"I am not _sulking_," she sneered, shooting him a dirty look. "I'm just not _thrilled_ about coming to this stupid party!"

Draco sighed; it seemed like they'd had this conversation about a hundred times that night. "We couldn't _not _come, Astoria. It's not just a New Year's Eve party; it's also _your_ _sister's_ engagement party to _my_ old roommate."

"Oh, _please_," replied Astoria with an eye roll. "Daphne was probably hoping we wouldn't show up. She's probably terrified I'll break something and that she'll lose a portion of her future inheritance."

"Could you lighten up a little?" Draco snapped, running a hand through his hair. "I always thought New Year's was a time to have _fun_."

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry," Astoria drawled, narrowing her eyes. "Do you want me to go have some drinks? I'm sure our son would just _love _some firewhiskey." She patted her stomach, which looked as if it would pop any day now.

"Astoria, you _know_ that's not what I meant," Draco said, growing irritated with his hormonal wife; Astoria was moody enough _without_ the pregnancy. "I just meant that maybe you could interact with some people instead of sitting here by yourself—"

"Of course!" Astoria laughed bitterly. "I'll go hang out with my older sister's drunk friends! While I'm forced to stay sober, nonetheless! Sounds like _loads_ of fun!"

Draco sighed loudly, massaging the bridge of his nose. "That's it. I give up. Do whatever the bloody hell you want."

Astoria brushed a piece of hair out of her face, eying her husband. "Can we just go?" she asked quietly, and Draco noticed just how tired she looked. "I mean, it's not like anyone's going to notice we're gone—it's almost midnight." She nodded her head towards the huge clock in the middle of what would usually be the dance floor, its numbers reading that there was less than two minutes until the New Year.

"Fine, whatever," Draco said absentmindedly, growing tired himself.

Astoria began to lift herself from the chair when suddenly she paused, several looks crossing her face suddenly: worry, pain, thoughtfulness, until finally reaching annoyance.

"Well, it looks like we've got to make a stop at St. Mungo's before we get home," she said, her voice strained as she placed one hand on her lower back and the other on her stomach. Around them, people were cheering and snogging, celebrating the beginning of a New Year.

"What are you…?" Draco trailed off, a look of realization crossing his face, followed by another emotion.

Had she not been in pain, Astoria would have laughed at his look of utter distress.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. I'm proud of myself for actually finishing this and posting this today :D I really hope I kept Draco IC… it's my first time writing him. Oh, and sorry if Astoria comes off a little-excuse my French-bitchy. She's an irritated pregnant woman, though, so what do you expect?**

**This is set in 2005/06. Huh, I just realized that Scorpius almost has the same birthday as Voldemort… weird…**

**Thanks to my reviewers: **lunylovegoodlover, InventorOfFirebolt, **and **Addicted-To-Sugar-Quills. **I'm glad you all liked it! It makes me happy that I sold you the ship :)**

**Next up is one of my favorites: Dudley Dursley and Megan Jones (a Hufflepuff in Harry's year, one of the original forty).**


	5. Freaks and Muggles

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**Four: Freaks and Muggles (DudleyMegan)**

* * *

Megan whipped her head around as the floorboard creaked behind her. Letting out a sigh, she brushed a piece of brown fringe out of her face, eyeing the intruder. "Oh, Dudley, it's just you."

The other teenager just nodded, silently sitting down next to Megan on the couch, his eyes focusing on the telly in front of them.

A few moments of awkward silence passed between the two, their breathing and the New Year's Eve special the only sounds in the room.

"Er, Dudley?" The burly blond glanced over at sound of witch's voice. "What exactly are you still doing up? I thought everyone else was asleep." Megan wasn't complaining, exactly; she was just curious. In fact, she was kind of happy to have some company, seeing as Vernon and Petunia had turned in roughly and hour and a half ago at exactly ten o'clock (as they had every day they had been at the safe house) and Hestia was out with Charlie.

"They are," replied Dudley shortly. At the brunette's raised eyebrows, he continued, "I couldn't sleep, okay?"

Megan cocked her head to the side. The safe house was a normal Muggle household in the heart of a suburb that Hestia had said was similar to where the Dursley's own house was located. "Why not?"

"Are you always this nosey?"

"Are you always this secretive?"

Dudley huffed, crossing his arms and refocusing his attention to the New Year's Eve special. Disappointed, Megan followed, still curious about the reasoning behind the Muggle's insomnia.

And, yet again, the mix-matched duo was trapped in an awkward silence.

"Nightmares." Megan almost jumped at the sound of Dudley's voice. The pair had been sitting quietly for what felt like so long, she had nearly forgotten he was there. Before the shock could wear off, however, he was talking again, like a broken dam leaking water. "I have nightmares nearly every night. Me being killed. My parents. Sometimes even Harry and the rest of you wiz—_freaks_."

Megan did not miss the Muggle's slip-up; like his parents, Dudley used the word 'freaks' when speaking of witches and wizards. Except for this time.

After he finished speaking, Dudley let out a deep breath and rested his elbows on his knees while holding his head in his hands. The sudden change of mood startled Megan—what was she supposed to do _now_? She couldn't just _leave_ him like that. Or, at least, she _shouldn't._

Wrapping an arm around his broad shoulder, the witch pulled Dudley into an awkward sort of half-hug. "It's okay, Dudley. We're perfectly safe here. 'sides, those Death Eaters are no match for me; honestly, they're really just a bunch of empty-headed trolls."

Okay, maybe she was stretching the truth, but she figured it was worth it when Dudley lifted his head, a wary smile painted on his face.

"Empty headed trolls?"

"A bunch of bimbos, really."

And then the two were laughing—something neither of them had done in a long time.

Glancing at the telly out of the corner of her eye, Megan realized that the New Year had approached.

"Happy New Year, Dudley," she said, still breathless from their laughter.

"Happy New Year, Megan."

With a start, Megan realized that was the first time he had called her by her first name. Leaning back against the couch with a small smile, one thought ran through her head:

_Maybe he isn't so bad after all._

**A/N: Long time no see, eh? Sorry about that…I had some pretty rough times these last few months that left me with a horrible case of writer's block. Anyways, this chapter is set in 1998/1999, which was not how it was originally planned, since these chapters are supposed to be in chronological order. Oh well, it will probably bother me more than you guys haha. I hope you guys like it, though! This is one of my favorite pairings…in my mind, the Jones (Megan and her older sister, Hestia, who's Charlie's age) were assigned to 'babysit' the Dursleys during the war and Megan and Dudley bonded over that.**

**In other news, this story won third place in the **Happy New Year Competition**, which I think is pretty good, considering it wasn't even finished :D**

**I'd like to wrap up this (ridiculously long) author's note with a thank you to my reviewers: **InventorofFirebolt**, **Addicted-to-Sugar-Quills**, **A Bittersweet Smile**, **lunylovergoodlover**, **aleera**,** **and** Shahrezad1**. You guys keep me motivated :)**

**Next up on Before the Midnight Toll: Teddy/Victoire…I'm actually almost done with it. I really just need to look it over, but I'll do that later, since it's about two A.M. here. So expect it up tomorrow—er, later today?  
**


	6. Hopeless Romantics

**Before the Midnight Toll**

**Five: Hopeless Romantics (TeddyVictoire)**

* * *

Victoire Weasley was on a mission.

She was _going_ to snogging Teddy Lupin at midnight—if not earlier—even if it was the last thing she ever did. And with her mother's beauty and her father's charm, it should have been a piece of cake.

However, she had not planned on her _baby sister_ hogging him.

"Hey, Teddy," Vic cooed, squeezing next to him, even though the seat was clearly made for one.

"Hello," he replied distantly, not looking up from his game of Wizard's Chess.

"Victoire?" The blonde's head snapped up to meet her redheaded sister's bemused expression. "Don't you think that seat's a bit cramped? Maybe you should come sit in this _empty_ seat."

Vic's eyes narrowed. Her sister was doing it _again._ Every time she was close to having a moment with Teddy, Dominique always ruined it!

"_Actually_, Dom, it's rather cozy—"

"Good idea," Teddy cut in, still trying to figure out his move. "This chair really is only meant to seat one person."

Dominique quickly covered her mouth, but not quick enough for Victoire to miss the snicker that had escaped.

"Are you _sure_, Teddy?" she purred, her lips next to his ear.

"Positive, Vic. Not to be rude or anything, but could you please move? I feel bad making your sister wait this long."

This time Dom didn't even _try_ to cover her snort. "It's all right, Teddy, you know you're going to lose."

"The game's not over yet!" The turquoise-haired boy finally lifted his head and flashed the redhead a grin.

"Well—" Vic sniffed, a dagger of hurt slicing through her. "I'll just leave you two to your game then." Sliding out of the seat, she quickly departed the room, only pausing to grab her coat off the hanger before slipping outside. Much to her dismay, a single teardrop slid down her cheek before she viciously wiped it away.

The two chess players exchanged glances.

"Did I say something?"

Dom rolled her eyes. "Go talk to her."

Nodding slowly, Teddy also left the room, not even bother with a jacket as he entered the Burrow's snowy backyard.

"Vic?" he called softly, noticing the slim figure standing in the snow.

"Go away, Teddy." She paused, sniffling. "Don't you have games to play?"

"Vic? What's wrong?" He was now standing next to her, and even in the faint moonlight, he could see the tear stains on her freckled cheeks.

She opened her mouth to answer when suddenly the Burrow erupted in sound: fireworks popped, people cheered, and a mixture of voices yelled "Happy New Year!"

A moment later it quieted down and Victoire began crying. The sniffling, heaving, _sobbing_ sort of crying.

Shocked, Teddy folded her into his arms, rubbing small circles on her back. "Shh, shh. What's got you all worked up?"

Pulling back, Victoire refused to make eye contact. "Well it's just that in all the romance books and movies and stuff, you always hear about the heroine getting kissed on midnight on New Year's Eve and it being the most romantic thing ever and I've never done that before so I thought it be cute, but now it's the new year and I won't be able to do it for _a-whole-nother year_!"

She finally met Teddy's eyes with her own, only to see that he was holding back laughter. _Laughter!_

"Is _that_ why you were acting so strange?" Teddy chuckled. "Because you wanted me to kiss you at midnight?"

Blushing, Vic looked tried to look down again, but was stopped as Teddy brought his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. He quickly pressed his lips to hers, but pulled away before she knew what was happening.

"Next time," Teddy whispers, his breath warm on her face, "just tell me, and don't act all weird, okay?"

Unable to find her voice, Victoire nodded weakly. Teddy grinned again, before letting her go and heading back towards the house.

"Come on," he called, waving a Weasley jumper clad arm. "Let's go inside. It's freezing out here!"

"Coming!" she replied, a silly grin making its way to her face.

_I'm in love,_ she thought as she slowly walked towards the Burrow.

_I'm in love with Teddy Lupin._

* * *

**A/N: I told you I'd get the next chapter up today! Hmm...I'm not usually a big fan of Teddy/Victoire (I'm more of a Dom girl, myself) but this was fun to write! I think it was Teddy. He's pretty clueless sometimes, isn't he? It's set in 2015/2016, so Teddy's 17, Vic's 15, and Dom's 14. Many thanks to the lovely **Addicted-to-Sugar-Quills **and **skaterofthebooks **for revewing :D**

**Next up: James/OC. I'll get working on it today, and hopefully it'll be up by at least tomorrow!**


	7. Stupid Wizards

**Before the Midnight Toll**

* * *

**Seven: Stupid Wizards (JamesiiOC)**

* * *

Elizabeth Adams was getting rather annoyed with all the magic going on in her house.

It was Christmas holidays and Liz's mother had thought it would be a _wonderful_ idea that Thomas—Liz's twin brother—would invite his friend over for New Year's Eve. Liz wouldn't have normally minded, since whenever Tom had friends she had the same option, but all of her friends were travelling

And that meant the boys were allowed to use magic.

Tom had always been a bit…odd. Once, while playing outside, he and his sister had discovered a near-dead kitten. Liz took one look and ran away from the scene, crying. Minutes later, Tom came rushing to her, holding now unharmed kitten. He explained to her that he touched that cat's wounds before they started to heal themselves. Liz hadn't believed him, and the two had gotten into a big argument.

And that was only just _one_ example. There were many similar incidents over the years and the family had finally just accepted that their son was strange.

Until Professor Longbottom stopped by.

"Look out, Liz!" Liz's thoughts were interrupted by her brother's warning—a warning that came just a second too late. Before she could register what was happening, a large owl swooped by her head, its feathers flicking her face as it passed.

For most people—especially people who'd dealt with this for years—this wouldn't be a big deal. But Liz just happened to be deathly afraid of bird, owls included.

She let out a squeal before facing the top of the stairs where her brother stood sheepishly.

"Thomas Gabriel Adams!" she screeched, standing up from her spot on the couch. "_What_ did I tell you about those _stupid_ birds!"

The boy in mention opened him mouth to answer (probably some stuttered apology) when his friend popped his head out.

"Merlin, Tom." Liz couldn't stand the way that Potter boy talked. Arrogantly, like he owned the place. "Next time warn me about your crazy sister! First she's a Muggle and now she sounds like your mum? Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Both Adams twins froze at the 'm' word.

"That's it," Liz said stiffly, grabbing her jacket. "I'm leaving. Tell Mum—tell her something. I don't even care."

She then proceeded to head out the door, only making to the front steps before the tears started. She speed-walked down the street and turned at the corner, finding herself at a small park. Sitting down on a creaky swing, she swallowed hard a brought shaky hands up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

_Muggle_.

That _stupid_ word had haunted her ever since that _stupid_ Professor Longbottom had shown up, saying that her _stupid_ brother was a _stupid_ wizard and taking him away from her.

For the first eleven years of her life, Liz had always had her big brother there for her. But then he was off at his _stupid_ wizarding school. She could care less that he could do magic and she couldn't (plus she couldn't stand the idea of using _birds_ to deliver mail). She just wanted him with her. At least she had him during the holidays, but it was never the same. He went on about ghosts professors and talking portraits, making Liz's boring, _Muggle_ life pale in comparison.

Okay, maybe she was a _little_ jealous.

But it was more than that: she craved her outgoing older brother on her first day of secondary school. She missed having him scare off bullies. She wished he was there to hold her when her first boyfriend broke up with her.

She needed her brother. Her protector.

It had been easy to ignore the magic factor before Tom had come of age that summer, but now that he could use magic freely, it was impossible to have her Muggle friends over when he was home.

And now he had brought one of his _stupid_ wizard friends home and they were having a ball up in Tom's room: levitating furniture, charming household items, using _owls_—

Clenching her fists, Liz took a deep breath and diverted her attention to listening to the New Year's Eve party that was taking place a few doors down. By the sounds of it, it was nearly midnight.

_Good, _Liz thought. Hopefully her _stupid_ brother and his _stupid_ friend would crash and she'd be free to go home.

"Er, Liz?"

"Go away." Liz didn't even turn as her nails dug deeper into her palms.

"Look, I'm, er, sorry." Tom must have forced him to come apologize. "I don't have anything against Mug—um…non-magic folks. Really. I've got plenty of family that…aren't wizards and it's cool."

"You think _that's_ what this is about?" Liz asked, stunned as she finally stood up and turned around, one hand still holding the swing. "You think I'm offended because I'm not one of you lot?"

"Um…aren't you?"

"God no! I don't _want_ to be one of you!"

"Then why are you upset?"

"Because you and your _stupid _wizarding world took him away from me!" Liz was now centimeters away from his face, her breath making little clouds. "He's _my_ brother, and he left me just because some_ stupid_ guy told him to—"

Liz would have gone on longer if it weren't for James kissing her. He pulled away, however, before she could really register it.

"_What was that?_" she cried, bringing a hand up to her lips, afraid he might—do _that_ again.

"It's customary to kiss someone on midnight," he replied holding up his watch, which did, in fact, read midnight. He glanced at her again, his eyes suddenly soft. "And Tom always go on about how much he misses his baby sister. He keeps a picture of you next to his bed in the dormitory."

She started at him, eyes wide.

"Now come on," James said, his usual arrogance returning. "Let's get back before Tom starts to worry."

Liz watched him for a moment, perplexed, as he made his way down the street. Looking up at the sky, she let out a short laugh before jogging to catch up with the dark-haired wizard.

* * *

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this! The ending was not planned—it just wrote itself haha. But James Sirius was an interesting character to write. I almost want to expand on this! Sorry it took so long—I've been so busy lately! And I tried to incorporate some more British words into this, so I'm sorry if it's awkward/out of place. I've got British blood, but I've still yet to go there :P Anyhow, a million thanks to my reviewers: **skaterofthebooks**, **lunylovegoodlover**, and **Addicted-To-Sugar-Quills**! You guys rock :D**

**Next up: Lorcan/Lucy…not my favorite, but we'll try!**


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